Instinctual Connections
by itachikitsune
Summary: Jake's been feeling weird for two months straight. Can his grandfather help him understand why? And will they become closer then they already are?
1. Chapter 1

**( A.N. Hi, its Itachikitsune. This is my first American Dragon Jake Long fanfiction. Takes place after Hong Kong Longs. Honestly, I keep asking myself why I haven't written one fanfic for this particular section. This fic is a way to say its finally summer vacation after months of academic torture. Anyway, I hope you like it.)**

Instinctual Connections

Jake bolted upright for the seventh time in two months, the familiar layer of sweat covering his body like an uncomfortable blanket. He didn't understand what was going on, just that he needed to go to his grandpa's shop. There was an underlying feeling of pain that became more pronounced the longer he laid there. It was like separation was his enemy, and the unfamiliar feeling of longing was driving him nuts. He quickly shut and locked his bedroom door before shifting into his dragon form. He thought whatever was going on would subside with the release of his dragon side, but it seemed to make it worse. The separation became sheer agony and Jake wondered if he'd be able to make the flight all the way to grandpa's shop.

Jake calmed himself down with a soft breath and harshly shoved his tidal wave like emotions to the back of his mind. He slid open his window and took off for his grandpa's shop. Meanwhile, Lao Shi took a key out of his pocket. He was standing in front of a door in the back room of his shop. He never thought he'd actually have use for this room until now. The emotions from his grandson were almost consuming him and he wondered if the young dragon would make it over to the store. He knew what it was, the feeling that separation was dangerous. It was was his developing connection to his student finally coming to a head. All dragon masters have a slight connection with their student that would eventually grow into a life-long emotional and physical bond.

The students felt it as soon as they started training with their dragon masters, though they usually didn't understand, or know, what it was. All they knew was that they had an almost subconscious tie with their teacher. One that let them know that even if they were in trouble with their masters, they were still wanted and loved by them. Many times a student would wonder if they loved or if one of their stunts had pushed their master too far. Often, students would trudge away from their masters after a bout of brashness, thinking they were nothing more then disregarded pieces of cobblestone. Only for their masters to reassure them that they were wanted, no matter what they did.

Lao Shi walked out to the front of his store and waited for his grandson. No sooner had he sat down, did Jake come flying through one of the store's many windows. He stared at Lao Shi and said man could see the struggle in his eyes of weather to stay dragon or return to his human counterpart. " Come here Jake. For this conversation, you need to be human." said Lao Shi. Jake with some difficulty, shifted back into his human form and landed on the floor. He straightened from his crouch and walked over to his grandfather. He was still sitting and Jake stopped in front of him. He dropped to his knees and moved between his grandfather's legs. It'd look weird to any outsider that saw it but this was comfortable to Jake and his grandfather. It was a submissive position, one that Jake would often take if he was with his grandfather. Usually, submission meant that one was being forced to cower under another in order to prove that they weren't trying to take a position of power.

What Jake was doing, the way he was presenting himself, was freely done. This type of submission was one brought on by a foundation of trust. Jake had nothing to fear when he was like this, as he knew his grandfather would protect him from anything. He rested his head on his grandfather's legs and Lao Shi rested a hand on the top of his head. Gentle, but firm pressure kept Jake from raising his head to examine his grandfather's expressions as he often did while they talked.

" What is going on? For these last few months, I've been feeling like I'm only half here when I'm away from you. Its like half of me has to stay here or I'll go insane." said Jake. " Little One, it is our bond doing this." said Lao Shi calmly. " What bond? I didn't even know we had one." said Jake. " When we first started training, and you got to know me as someone other then your grandpa, didn't you notice a slight connection between us? Like a ribbon tying us together?" asked Lao Shi.


	2. Chapter 2

" Yeah, now that you mentioned it. Its like no matter what I did, somehow, I always knew you'd still keep me as your student." said Jake. " Exactly. And though you've tried my patience many times Young One, I will always be here for you." said Lao Shi. " So how did this bond start anyway?" asked Jake. Now that he was with his grandfather, he didn't feel like he was about to break into a million fragments. " You trusted me with your dragon side as soon as your mother filled you in on our side of the family, did you not?" asked Lao Shi. " I did. I figured, if anyone knew anything about it, it'd be you. Instinctively, I knew you were safe and would protect me from anything." said Jake. " That's what started the bond. The bottomless pool of trust you handed me, along with your heart. I gave you a bit of trust as well when I took you on as my student. I trusted that you would listen to me when it really counted and that no matter how angry you were with me, that you'd do what's right in the end. That trust grew as I trained you and my side of the almost dormant bond opened, allowing us to share bits and pieces of emotions." said Lao Shi.

" But this is crazy. When I was away from you, I felt like someone was stabbing me with knives and ripping me apart. A bond shouldn't do that, no matter how strong." said Jake. " True, but its like the natural connection us dragons all have with each other. When one of us gets hurt, others, even enemies, rise to defend the fallen ones. We have a similar, yet stronger connection. When either of us gets hurt, the other instantly gets a feeling like something's wrong, much like a mother's gut feeling with her child. When a dragon is separated from their teacher for long or even short periods of time and has a bond like we do, it often does feel very painful to be apart. The pain will dull if we're together. Since your now aware of the bond, the feelings are much stronger. And I fully trust you." said Lao Shi.

" You sound like the pain isn't going to stop just because we're together. You said we have a similar yet stronger connection. What did you mean?" asked Jake. " We have an instant bond because we're student and teacher, as well as the automatic one we have because I am your grandfather. Usually, the bond is a normal one, nothing special. We share emotions and can feel each others pain. But ours is unique because we have two immensely strong, yet separate ties to each other." said Lao Shi. " You sound almost like this is a common thing between students and their dragon masters." said Jake. " It is Young One. All students and dragon masters have a slight bond when they start out. Some lose the connection, some just ignore it. Sometimes the masters don't want the responsibility of looking after a pupil. For students and dragon masters who've already bonded, its like having your heart ripped out and shredded when the master snaps the bond without remorse. Students usually never recover and go insane. There are one or two that bounce back, but they never trust again." said Lao Shi.

" How could a master just cut their student off like that? That's bound to hurt them too. Right?" asked Jake. " Yes, if, they fully bond." said Lao Shi. " What do you mean, fully?" asked Jake. " In order to fully bond, we have to bite each other. Otherwise, the bond is only half there and one sided, as the student is the one with love for the master. Often, the master doesn't have love for their student." said Lao Shi. " Meaning what?" asked Jake. " Meaning, that the masters were just using their students as a way to get in good graces with the dragon council. And to take credit for their students accomplishments." said Lao Shi. " Can they do that?" asked Jake. " Yes, all they have to do is say is that they had to clean up their student's mess. The council never checks to see if the claims are true." said Lao Shi. " OK, that's just messed up." said Jake.

" Indeed Young One." said Lao Shi. They sat there quietly for a while as Jake digested what his grandfather told him. " So, the bond stays partial until we make it whole?" asked Jake. " Yes, but once we do, its there for life. If one of us parishes, the other will fallow in minutes. Not only that, but you'll be able to feel my emotions as if their an extension of your own. As if your in two bodies at once." said Lao Shi. " Wow. That's going to be weird." said Jake.


	3. Chapter 3

" There will be a constant thrum of emotions from both of us to each other. Much like a hidden live wire. You'll eventually learn how to tune in and block out things when needed as you get used to the bond." said Lao Shi. " Is there going to be any physical evidence that we've sealed the bond?" asked Jake. " Yes, as we're biting each other. There will be marks present on both of us. Only other bonded pairs of dragon masters and students will know what the marks mean. Not even the dragon slayers know the significance of such marks." said Lao Shi. " Wait, does the dragon council know what the marks mean?" asked Jake.

" No, as the marks aren't visible. If they did see them, they would think they were mating marks." said Lao Shi. " But their not. Everybody knows that if your going to mark your mate, that you leave one on the underside of their neck, on their pulse point. Even dragons do that and the council should know that. By the way, where do we mark each other?" asked Jake. " Our shoulders, which is why no one has seen the marks." said Lao Shi. " Has the dragon council ever separated a student and master that's already fully bonded?" asked Jake. " Yes they have, but once the bond is complete, distance is no longer an issue. The student and master, no matter how far apart, always know what the other is feeling." said Lao Shi. " Would they have an issue with dragon masters and their students if they found out what the bond was and why it was started?" asked Jake.

" Yes, as they like to switch dragon masters and students around if the students won't listen to their current dragon master." said Lao Shi. " Why would they have a problem with it? If anything, the bond makes dragon students and their masters a stronger pair. That's a good thing, isn't it?" asked Jake. " Yes, but they would see it as a hindrance because the connection can't be broken. They wouldn't want a dragon master who's been given a new student to still be in contact with their old student. It'd make the new student feel inferior to the previous one. Like they could never measure up." said Lao Shi. " But that's not true, they wouldn't be inferior." said Jake. " With some masters, they would always be inferior, no matter how hard they worked. A lot of masters don't like the forced separation that the council demands, so they usually take it out on the students." said Lao Shi. " That's not right. I probably should've asked this at the beginning, but I didn't think about it. Who's marking which shoulder?" asked Jake.

" I'm marking your right shoulder and your marking my left." said Lao Shi. " Alright." said Jake. His grandfather finally removed his hand and Jake raised his head. " Are you sure you want to do this?" asked Lao Shi. " Positive." said Jake. Lao Shi could read the raw honesty in his eyes and smiled. Jake stood up and backed away so his grandfather could stand. Lao Shi stood and removed his robe, revealing a T-shirt and a pair of pants underneath. Jake instantly transformed into his dragon form and Lao Shi laid on his back on the floor. Jake walked over to him and he slowly pulled up his sleeve. Jake didn't hesitate to bite into his grandfather's shoulder, his fangs sinking in easily like a knife through butter. Seconds later he removed them and reverted back to his human form. He helped Lao Shi off the floor and then went to grab a paper towel. He wet it down and returned to where Lao Shi was now sitting. He wiped off the blood gently and his grandfather stood, once again donning his robe.

" When I transformed, I knew where to bite you. Why is that?" asked Jake. " Your instincts as a dragon Young One, those are what guided you." said Lao Shi. " Why is it that when I transformed, I felt like I couldn't be closer to you?" asked Jake. " Because the bond between us is almost whole. Once it is, then the pining will stop." said Lao Shi. Jake removed his jacket and laid on the floor. Lao Shi instantly changed forms and bit into his student's right shoulder. Jake gasped at the sharp pain, but otherwise didn't move. Lao Shi removed his fangs and changed back to his human form. He then went to clean up the bite mark on his student's shoulder. After he was done, he pulled Jake to his feet. " Come with me Young Dragon, I have something you need to see." said Lao Shi.


	4. Chapter 4

Jake nodded and his grandfather walked to the back of the store, him on his heels. Lao Shi pulled the key from his pocket and inserted it. He turned the key and opened the door. Jake was stunned as he looked into the room. Quilts of various colors and sizes littered the floor, as well as the walls being painted a light gray. " What, is this?" asked Jake. " Dragons nest when their scared or hurt, it gives them something to do to take their mind off things. But, we also nest when the bond first kicks in because of the sudden onslaught of emotions being passed between us. Its quite disorienting. I always hoped that we'd eventually bond so I made up this room in preparation for the slight possibility that we might." said Lao Shi.

" You sound like we can choose weather we bond to our dragon masters or not." said Jake. " You can. The way you've been feeling, its a warning of what will happen. The student talks to their master and they decide weather they want to or not. If they don't want to bond, they both ignore it and continue on as normal." said Lao Shi. " You made this room as a comfort thing, some place we can hide away when its too much. But also because after the bond kicks in, we can't be away from each other for at least three hours, right?" asked Jake. " Exactly." said Lao Shi. He walked in and Jake fallowed, shutting the door behind him. The floor was fuzzy and Jake laid down. Lao Shi fallowed and wrapped his arms around him. Jake curled into him and buried his face in his neck. They were both on their sides.

Suddenly, emotions too fast for either to identify were being passed along the bond. Jake whimpered, feeling like his body was being shredded and then put back together. " Just focus on breathing Young Dragon." said Lao Shi. Finally the pain stopped two hours later and Jake hadn't even realized he'd shifted into his dragon form. He felt soft skin surrounding him completely and realized that his grandfather was curled around him. They slowly fell asleep and didn't wake up until morning. Jake stretched before shifting back into his human form and his grandfather fallowed suite. He hugged Lao Shi tightly and he gently squeezed the the back of Jake's neck.

" I'm glad we did this. I feel closer to you." said Jake. " So am I. I don't have to worry about you so much anymore." said Lao Shi. " Can, we see what the marks look like?" asked Jake. " Sure, I'm quite curious myself." said Lao Shi. He removed his robe and Jake removed his jacket. They were both stunned when they saw each other's marks. They both had the head of a rose, Lao Shi's being red to symbolize Jake's dragon form, and Jake's being a dark blue to symbolize his grandfather's dragon form. They put their respective clothes back on and Jake shifted into his dragon form. " Cool, they transferred over." said Jake. " It would. Now see if distance is an issue." said Lao Shi. Jake opened the door and flew off. Lao Shi waited a good ten minutes before calling him back in and Jake landed on the floor.

" Are you going to come home today?" asked Jake. " I think I will. Race you Young Dragon." said Lao Shi as he transformed. Jake smirked and shot out of their comfort room. Lao Shi shut and locked the door behind him before taking off after his student. Jake shot through the Long's kitchen window and dropped, landing in his human form. " You'll have to be a bit faster Young Dragon." said Lao Shi from behind him. The rest of the family was eating breakfast and Jake scowled at his grandfather. The man chuckled and sat down next to Haley. Jake sat down on his other side and they started eating. They finished eating five minutes later and John looked up at both of them. " You know Sport, you've raced each other a lot and I've never seen you so calm about it. Usually your so competitive. This time, its like you didn't care weather you won or not." said John. " I didn't. It was for fun." said Jake. John nodded and smiled. He then grabbed his briefcase and walked out. " How are you dad?" asked Jake's mom. " Fine. The store's business is thriving." said Lao Shi.

" I'm glad. Now, my job called and I have to fill in for one of the caterers. I'll be back later tonight." said Susan. " Have fun Mom." said Jake. She smiled and stood, walking out of the kitchen. Distantly, they heard the front door shut and then Haley stood, shifting into her dragon form. The other two fallowed and they all took off out the window. " You two bonded didn't you?" asked Haley suddenly. " How did you know?" asked Jake.


	5. Chapter 5

" I could sense a change in both of you." said Haley. " I hope its a good one." chuckled Lao Shi. " It is, you both have a calm air about you that you didn't have before. Almost like a ribbon." said Haley. " Thanks Sis." said Jake. " Your welcome." said Haley. They flew around, Jake on one side of Haley and Lao Shi on the other. " I know I'll never have that kind of bond with Master Sun." said Haley. " Why do you say that? She loves having you as her student." said Jake.

" Yeah, but in some situations, she's too soft. I was the one that had to free her from a giant's birthday party last week. They were using her as a dragon pinata." said Haley.

Jake and his grandfather chuckled and Haley grinned as well. " It was funny, but what if that'd happened to me? I think she'd waste more time trying to negotiate with them then trying to free me. I hope I never run into the Huntsclan like you have. I'd be dead before she found me." said Haley. " That could very well be true Haley." said her grandfather.

" Yeah. Somethings need more roughness then others." said Jake. " Oh, can I see your bond marks?" asked Haley.

" Sure." said Jake. They flew down to a nearby rooftop and landed.

They offered their shoulders and she was shocked at the marks she saw. " Their very pretty and they fit you well." said Haley. " Thank you Little Dragon." said Lao Shi. " Come on, if you don't mind, there's someone I want you to meet." said Jake as he took off again. " Who, Young Dragon?" asked Lao Shi as they fallowed after him. " Professor Rotwood's met me,and seen my dragon form, but he hasn't met either of you." said Jake. " Very true." said Haley. They made it to Millard Fillmore Middle School five minutes later and Jake flew up to Professor Rotwood's classroom window.

He was sitting at his desk and Jake quietly knocked on the window. Professor Rotwood turned around and his jaw dropped as he saw two other dragons besides his previous student. He opened the window and stepped back to let them fly in.

" Long time no see Mr. Long. How's high school?" asked Professor Rotwood. " Fun. Its weird though." said Jake. " Why? Did you actually like him yelling at you constantly?" teased Haley. " No." denied Jake. " The only one your fooling, Young Dragon, is yourself." said Lao Shi. " Why do you have to know me so well?" grumbled Jake. " I am your dragon master, I have to know you." said Lao Shi.

" Though this is amusing, who are these dragons?" asked Professor Rotwood. " The tiny one's my sister and the blue one's my grandfather." said Jake. Rotwood's jaw dropped at Jake's words and he smiled sheepishly. " Wait, are you telling me it runs in the family?" asked professor Rotwood. " Just on my mom's side. It skipped her generation though for some reason." said Jake. " What is going on in here? Why are you talking to lizards Professor Rotwood?" asked Brad. They were shocked to hear his voice and Professor Rotwood turned to face him. " Their not lizards, their dragons." said Professor Rotwood. " Yeah right." said Brad. " He's not lying Brad." said Jake. Brad's jaw dropped as he heard his former classmate's voice come out of the red lizard's mouth. " So all those years you went on about dragons, magical creatures, and magical artifacts?" asked Brad.

" Were true. What you read in Mr. Long's file was also true." said Professor Rotwood. " Excuse me, what file?" asked the blue dragon. His eyes were narrowed and Professor Rotwood swallowed nervously. " I ah. In an attempt to make him slip and transform in front of everybody, I did a ton of stuff, one of the things was put notes in his file." said Professor Rotwood as he turned back around to face the three dragons. " Do you have any idea how much danger you could have put him in?!" hissed Lao Shi. " No, I don't." said Professor Rotwood. Jake winced as he felt his grandfather's fury travel across the bond and Haley tapped her grandfather on the shoulder. " Jake hasn't learned how to ignore emotions yet." said Haley.

" Sorry Young Dragon." said Lao Shi, as he slowly took calming breaths. " Its fine." said Jake. " I'll be back." said Lao Shi. He flew out the still open window and Jake groaned. " What?" asked Haley.


	6. Chapter 6

" He's going to get the memory book." said Jake. Haley groaned as well when she heard that and Professor Rotwood arched an eyebrow. " What's the memory book?" asked Brad as he stepped further into the room to stand next to his former teacher. " You'll find out soon enough." said Haley. Three minutes later, Lao Shi flew back in and landed on the floor. There was a book clutched in his claws and he shifted down into his human form. He set it on the floor and flipped open to the page he wanted. " Though I know you apologized and negated any suspicion, there still might be a chance that a student heard who wasn't supposed to." said Lao Shi.

Suddenly a magical bubble popped up above the book and Jake watched his painful, but numerous, encounters with the Huntsclan. Haley and the rest watched as well, shocked that he managed to make it out alive. After Lao Shi was satisfied with what they'd all seen, he gently closed the book. " Now, do you understand the danger you unknowingly put him in?" asked Lao Shi. " Yes, I'm sorry. I didn't know there were dragon slayers." whispered Professor Rotwood. " You believe in magical creatures, dragon slayers shouldn't be that much more of a stretch." said Lao Shi.

" Its not a stretch. Can I see your human forms?" asked Professor Rotwood. Haley and Jake shifted back into their human forms. Brad held in a snicker as he saw Haley and Jake chuckled. " I know what your thinking, she's too small to be much of a dragon. But she can hold her own just fine." said Jake. " Looking at either form, you wouldn't believe that." said Brad. " Very true, but she is very skilled." said Lao Shi. " You have to say that, I'm your granddaughter." said Haley. " No he doesn't Haley. Put the family aside for a second and see it through an experienced dragon's eyes. If he were your dragon master, he could say you were horrible. When it comes to dragon stuff, put the family on the back burner because it truly doesn't matter." said Jake.

" You've become very wise Young Dragon. I'm proud to be your master." said Lao Shi. Haley's head went down and Jake turned to her. " You know, we could ask the council if he could be your dragon master." said Jake. " But they have this thing about family not training family. They'd never allow it." said Haley. " True, but if Gramps hadn't trained me, I wouldn't have been prepared for the three times I faced the dark dragon. You need a dragon master that's willing to teach you everything they know and your not getting that with Sun. If I need to, I will step in as the American Dragon as this is a dragon problem. How can you tap into your full potential as a dragon if you have a master who's not willing to help you?" asked Jake. " Thanks Jake." said Haley as she sprouted pink wings and flew up to him, giving him a hug.

" Anytime. Now, what do you say we see if we can beat Gramps back to his shop?" asked Jake as he let her go and shifted into his dragon form. " Sure, we probably won't win, but at least I can work on my flying." said Haley. Lao Shi nodded and he too transformed before picking up the book. " We better see you at least once in a while Long." said Brad. " You will. Who knows, I might be the monster under your bed." said Jake with a smirk. Lao Shi gave him a look and Jake chuckled.

" I was kidding." said Jake. " I know you Young Dragon, enough to know you weren't kidding." said Lao Shi. Haley snickered and Jake rolled his eyes. He darted out the window and the other two fallowed. " I got very lucky." said Haley.

" Why?" asked Lao Shi. " Because I get to share being a dragon with the two people that matter the most in my life." said Haley. " Thank you Little Dragon." said Lao Shi. " Yeah, no matter how much we fight, you'll always be my little sister." said Jake. Haley grinned and nodded. She already knew that about him, but every once in a while, she needed a reminder about just how much she was loved by her big brother. " Oh, we really need to find another name for our bond." said Jake. " Why?" asked Haley. " Because, if we don't, other dragons who haven't bonded or ignored the connection, will think we mated. That would be very awkward." said Jake. " What about, The Guardian Bond? He looks after you like a parent, but he's not overbearing like a mother. He'll stand by you when you need help, but at the same time, he'll rebuke you when necessary. He's like a guardian." said Haley. " I like that." said Jake. " I too like that name Little Dragon." said Lao Shi. Their lives as dragons were hectic, Jake's more so then anybody else's. But now he had someone to go to when it became too much. Someone who'd sit down and listen, or hug him when needed. Someone who he could go to if he had a fight with his parents. Now, he had a guardian.

 **( A.N. Hi, Itachikitsune here. This is the last chapter of, Instinctual Connections. I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. This was a lot of fun to write. Enjoy the rest of your day, Itachikitsune.)**


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